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Low-income residents shouldn't be a factor in strip club debate: RGJ Editorial Board

RGJ Editorial Board
Published 2:58 p.m. PT Feb. 8, 2018

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The owner of the Wild Orchid sent a letter to the tenants of his weekly motel warning them he would nearly double their rents if the council forces strip clubs out of downtown. At his urging they showed up at Wednesday's meeting to plead their cases.
Anjeanette Damon

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Gregory Atkinson, Velma Shoal and other residents of the Ponderosa Motel plead with the Reno City Council to strike a deal with downtown strip clubs that would help them avoid a drastic rent hike.(Photo: Anjeanette Damon/RGJ)Buy Photo

The debate over strip clubs in downtown Reno has been contentious, and with good reason — the character of our urban core and the future of long-standing Reno businesses are at stake. But it’s unconscionable for the strip club’s owners to drag Reno’s low-income residents into the fray.

For months, the council has been considering ordinances that would force the city’s strip clubs to relocate to industrial areas of town in a bid to make over downtown Reno’s image. Kamy Keshmiri, owner of the Wild Orchid Gentlemen’s Club and the adjacent Ponderosa Hotel, sent a letter to motel residents in late January informing them that their rent would double if the Wild Orchid were forced to relocate — an attempt to deputize his tenants to argue for Wild Orchid’s cause.

Keshmiri argues that the strip club’s profits actually subsidize the motel’s operations by up to $30,000 per month, hence the need to maintain business as usual. It’s a scary tactic. Suggesting that the Wild Orchid is somehow a charitable front for low-income housing would be laughable, if the housing situation of so many of our neighbors weren’t at stake.

But the tactic is working as planned. Dozens of residents showed up to the next city council meeting describing their fear of eviction; many said the low rent at the Ponderosa was their last hope to stave off homelessness.

If successful, this would have a significant impact on the way businesses lobby the city council. Private businesses that serve Reno’s low-income residents — think fast-food restaurants, convenience stores or payday loan centers — would have significant leverage to influence otherwise-unrelated policy decisions by threatening to increase costs for the city’s most vulnerable.

We’re also worried that the ultimatum might backfire, with Reno’s low- and fixed-income residents losing out. Downtown’s weekly motels are disappearing fast; over the past year, several sites have been demolished for development and real-estate speculation in the city’s core. The Wild Orchid and Ponderosa occupy some desirable real estate at the confluence of downtown, Midtown and California Avenue, so it’s not hard to imagine the property as the next domino to fall.

To be fair, there’s no clear path forward for Reno and the downtown strip clubs. Among the six-member RGJ Editorial Board, opinions vary. Some say strip clubs should be pushed into industrial areas of town, away from tourists; others say clubs should be restricted only to downtown. Some would like to see the clubs banned altogether; others are worried that heavy-handed regulation of any business category puts all other Reno businesses at risk.

Nonetheless, tying the issue to Reno’s chronic shortage of low-income housing is unconscionable. We ask the owners of the Wild Orchid and Ponderosa Hotel to end the gamesmanship over low-income housing residents. And we ask the city to disregard Keshmiri’s exploitative tactics.

For both the city and the club owners, the best path forward is to approach each other as a government and a taxpaying business — without bringing up unrelated issues.

Editorials reflect the consensus of the Reno Gazette Journal editorial board and are written by one of its members. Ryan Kedzierski is the RGJ’s president. Kelly Ann Scott is the newspaper’s executive editor. Brett McGinness is the RGJ’s engagement editor. Community members include Enrique Carmona, Barbara Courtnay, Lee Herz Dixon and Sam Stynen. The editorial board operates separately from the newsroom. Its opinions do not affect news coverage.